The nearest place to a proper beach day near our Largo place: 95 acres of Gulf-front county park with lifeguards, showers and changing rooms, a shaded dog park rated one of the best in Pinellas, a playground, fishing, and all-day parking for about seven dollars. It’s ten minutes north of our door, and it’s everything Clearwater Beach is, without the crowds.
A wooden boardwalk over the water, a working fishing fleet, dolphins that come right up to the docks, and about a hundred shops and restaurants — fifteen minutes from our Largo place and twelve from Seminole. It’s the busiest attraction in the county with over 14,000 reviews at 4.6 stars. It also has the most predatory parking on the coast, and that one fact will decide whether you have a good day.
The southern tip of St Pete Beach, two streets wide, with a historic main street, a working fishing pier, a restaurant serving breakfast since 1938, and the shuttle to Shell Key. No high-rises, no chain anything, and the shelling at the 4th Avenue access is the best on the beach. This is where locals go when they want the beach to feel like it did fifty years ago.
Shelling is the cheapest good thing to do here: it costs nothing, it works for a four-year-old and a seventy-four-year-old equally, and on the right morning you’ll fill a bag. But the rules matter, the tide matters more than the beach, and the best shells are on islands you can only reach by boat.
Both of our places sit on protected water, and the county has mapped the whole coast into an official paddling trail system. You can be in a mangrove tunnel twenty minutes after leaving the door — or have a kayak delivered to the driveway and never load a roof rack at all.
Thirty miles of barrier island, and they are not interchangeable. One is nationally famous and charges forty dollars to park. Another is a ferry-only island with no development at all. The best one for you depends entirely on what kind of day you want — so here’s the honest rundown, north to south.
Tucked between Clearwater and Largo on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Indian Rocks Beach offers everything you love about a Florida beach vacation without the high-rise hotels and tourist crowds. Known affectionately as “the locals’ beach,” IRB delivers soft white sand, warm Gulf waters, and a laid-back charm that keeps visitors coming back year after year. What…
About John’s Pass The pass itself was created by a hurricane on September 27, 1848, and got its name from pirate John Levique, who made the first passage through the newly formed waterway. Today, this quaint turn-of-the-century fishing village has been transformed into a bustling hub with over 100 merchants, including unique shops, restaurants, the…